


To Glow is to Know

by starship_destiel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bully Castiel, Castiel and Dean Winchester are Neighbors, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Dean-Centric, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Jock Castiel, M/M, Nerd Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 17:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4795301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starship_destiel/pseuds/starship_destiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester is afraid that he is one of the rare people who will never find his soulmate; especially when almost everyone he knows has found theirs, including his thirteen-year-old brother, and his best friend Charlie. Then one day, in the most unexpected circumstances he finds his soulmate, and he couldn't dread it more. It's Castiel Novak: his personal bully. (Based off of a Tumblr post, where your chest glows when you find your soulmate.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Glow is to Know

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a way to help me through some of my writer's block that I'm having with the multi-chapter Destiel fic that I'm writing. If you wanna check it out, it's called Dust in the Wind. Thanks for reading! :)

Dean is sick of hearing about it.

“Dude! It was so amazing. Her chest started glowing, and then mine started glowing...I’m telling you, it was magical. Like some Harry Potter shit.”

They were seated in the school library, and he nodded along to his friend Charlie’s story about finally finding her soulmate, Dorothy. Well, not _finally_ , they were only seniors in high school, after all. The average age of finding your soulmate had been lowering over the past couple of years, though, so it wasn’t really unheard of for someone in high school to find theirs. Scientists were making a huge deal out of it, the news was going crazy with stories of teenagers finding the person they were meant to be with at such a young age; some at only fourteen years old. No one knew what was causing it, but Dean thought that maybe their generation was just lucky.

In summary, Dean was tired of it all. He was tired of all of his friends and all of his other classmates gushing about the loves of their lives. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy for Charlie, because he was, he just...it made him feel kind of shitty, in a way. Dean didn’t believe that he even had a soulmate out there. Especially not someone like him.

Dean was one-hundred percent school oriented. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a lawyer. Hell, Sammy, who was only in eighth grade, was training himself to be a lawyer already. Dean didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do, so he tried his absolute hardest in every subject- devoting almost all of his time when he wasn’t with Charlie or working at the library to his studies. He found that this method helped him find what subjects he had more of an interest in. Right now, he was leaning more toward science.

He was also, well, awkward to say the least. Charlie had been the only person who approached him their freshman year, when he and his family first moved to Lawrence. Ever since, they had been attached at the hip and no one else had really interested Dean enough for him to try and pursue a friendship with them. So, if he couldn’t even find more friends, how the hell would he ever have a soulmate?

Charlie snapped her fingers in front of Dean’s face. “Hello? Earth to Dean,”

Dean’s attention quickly switched back over the the redhead. “Sorry, I zoned out a bit there.”

“A bit?” she repeated. “Did you hear a word I just said?”

“Yes, her chest glowed and then yours did and it was like Harry Potter or something.”

“Hmmm. Close enough.” Charlie grabbed her bag and stood up, slinging it over her shoulder. It was almost completely covered in pins of her favorite TV shows and movies. “I gotta head out, it was fun “studying”, as always,” she said, using her fingers to make air quotations.

“All right. I really am happy for you, Charlie,” Dean said, hoping it would ease some of the irritation she had just had towards him.

Charlie just smiled- all while teeth and dimples. “Thanks Dean. That seriously means a lot.”

Dean watched after her as she turned the corner to walk out of the library. He shook his head to himself, and began to pack up all of his books and papers scattered around on the table, stuffing them into his bag. He and Charlie were supposed to be studying for an AP Biology test, but they never really got far when you put school work in front of the both of them together.

With his back turned to the library entrance, he heard someone approaching behind him. It was odd, considering the school day had ended over an hour ago, but he figured it was Charlie coming back because she had forgotten something. Dean turned around to greet her, only to see that it wasn’t Charlie. It was Castiel Novak.

Dean swallowed, putting his backpack over his shoulder and tightening his grip around the straps. “Look at the little nerd, staying after school to study in the library,” Castiel said with a mischievous smile.

“What are you doing here, Castiel? School is clearly over, and I don’t think you’re the type of person who sticks around willingly,” Dean said, trying to sound confident, instead of sounding shaky and scared like he normally did. When Dean first moved to Lawrence, everyone at Lawrence High School had been decent. No one was mean to him, or made fun of him, no one made him feel like the freaky new kid. No one except for Castiel Novak. For some reason, he had become Castiel’s object of torment over the years. He would make snide and insulting remarks at him in the hallways, shove him into lockers, and basically made his high school career hell. He was like this to other students as well, usually students of the nerdy variety, like Dean. It was always the Nerds VS. the Jocks, and while Dean was an AP and honors student, Castiel was the captain of the baseball team. Castiel’s teammates never directly participated in the bullying, but always stood off to the side and laughed. Dean wondered where they were, as they were usually with Castiel at all hours of the day. They were like his minions. Oh, yeah, and Castiel happened to live across the street from him.

Castiel threw his head back and laughed. “Look at you, using your giant brain to analyze me. You’re right, I’m not here willingly. I have a detention, and unless you want to find out what I did to another kid like you to land me here, I suggest you get out of my sight. Am I clear, freak?”

Dean nodded, and quickly made his way out of the library.

At least he left without a bruise this time.

* * *

 

When Dean arrived at home, he walked in to find his mother rushing around and trying to make something in the kitchen. There was flour covering her bright pink apron, and a little smeared on her cheek. Dean could smell something sweet in the air. He came into the kitchen, and set his backpack on the tile floor by his feet. “Mmmm, that smells amazing mom. What are you making?” he asked.

Mary practically jumped out of her skin when she heard him. Pressing a hand to her chest and letting out a long, slow breath, she reached over the counter to smack Dean in the arm with a dish towel. “You almost gave me a heart attack, Dean! Don’t you know better than to surprise a woman who is busy in the kitchen?” she said, going back to wiping up the counter where there was a decent sized pile of flour.

Dean held his hands up in mock surrender. “Sorry, mom.”

She looked up at him and gave him her sweet smile, the one that always reassured Dean throughout his life. “It’s okay sweetie. And I’m attempting to bake a cake.”

Dean laughed. His mother had never been the best at cooking or baking. It was usually him or his father that did that. Mary did make one hell of a pie, though. “What’s the occasion?” he asked, sitting himself down at one of the stools in front of the island counter.

“Your little brother found his soulmate today! And she’s coming over for dinner tonight.” Mary exclaimed with a beaming smile. Dean felt his stomach drop. Sam has found his soulmate before he did? Damn it universe, that just wasn’t fair.

Just them, the little man himself wandered into the kitchen, face red from blushing. “Mooom,” Sam complained, “You don’t have to announce it to the entire world!” He sat down on the stool next to Dean. Dean reached over to muss up Sam’s dirty blond mop of hair, and Sam just smacked his hand away.

“This is big news, buddy,” Dean said, trying his best to fake his enthusiasm. Again, he was happy for his little brother, just a little irritated. “Charlie found hers yesterday, and now today, you found yours. Who’s it gonna be tomorrow?” Dean asked, forcing out a fake-sounding laugh.

Sam looked at him curiously. “Are you okay?” he asked, sounding concerned. “You don’t _seem_ very happy about it.”

Dean just shook his head, and stood up from the stool, grabbing his backpack from the floor. “I have homework,” he stated bluntly before heading to his room.

Sam and Mary shared a worried and confused glance.

As soon as Dean reached his room, he had to force himself not to slam his door. He could already tell the Sam and Mary were suspicious of his odd behavior, and he didn’t want to give them any more reason to be. He settled on throwing his backpack onto his bed, grabbing his pillow and pressing it to his face, and letting out a long scream. He hoped it was muffled enough that no one could hear him. The only person he could really talk to about this soulmate stuff was, oddly enough, his father. He understood Dean’s concern about it. He understood that Dean was afraid he didn’t even have a soulmate. He understood because before meeting Mary Campbell, John Winchester had felt the same way. But, he eventually found Mary, so he couldn’t be that similar to him, he thought. Still- talking to him always made him feel a bit better about it. He couldn’t wait until he got home tonight.

He threw himself on his bed, rotating his head to the side so he could look out his window at the oak tree that was right there. He had always wondered if you could use it to sneak out, but given his reputation as a goody-two-shoes, he had never had the guts to test that hypothesis. Dean glanced towards his backpack. He knew that he should start his homework like he always did as soon as he got home from school, but today for some reason he couldn’t find the motivation. He sighed, rolling over onto his back and staring at his ceiling.

It had become normal lately for Dean to have days like this. Days where everything just felt...hopeless. No, he didn’t like it, but he figured he was just going to have to deal with it, no matter how much it sucked. He closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths, drifting off only moments later.

 

When Dean opened his eyes again, it was dark in his room. Had he fallen asleep? He glanced over to the digital clock in his desk, and it read seven thirty. Shit, he had fallen asleep. It was already dark outside, since it was getting close to winter time. Dean sat up in the almost pitch black of his room, the only light source being the moon filtering through his window. He climbed out of bed to turn on his light, seeing his backpack lying on his bed and remembering all the homework he had to do. He groaned, his mind still groggy from sleep. How was he supposed to do all of it when he was this exhausted? Thankfully, there was a knock on his bedroom door, and a familiar voice calling from the other side. “Dean?”

Dean opened the door to see his father standing on the other side. He looked exhausted- dark circles under his eyes, tie loose around his neck. Being a lawyer was hard work, he knew, but he hated seeing how much of a toll it took on John. Why was Sammy choosing that career path, again?

“Come in,” Dean said, opening the door wider. John stepped through, and immediately went over to Dean’s bed and sat down. Mary must have told him about how he was acting earlier. Dean shut his door and sat down next to his father, anticipating what was to come.

“Your mother told me you were acting odd earlier,” he said, loosening his tie a bit more.

Dean swallowed and nodded. “It was nothing,” he lied.

“Is it about Sam finding his soulmate?” John asked.

“I...I guess so. And Charlie.”

“Oh, Charlie found her soulmate, too? Good for her.”

Dean just nodded.

“Look, son. I don’t know what it is that’s got you so convinced you’ll never find your soulmate, but I’m letting you know right now: it’s all in your head. Do you know how rare it is to not have a soulmate? The last time I heard, the statistic was every one in eight hundred thousand people.”

Dean shrugged. “Maybe I’m that one lucky person.” He kept his gaze focused on the pair of old, black converse he wore almost everyday that were on the floor in front of him, not wanting his father to see how upset he must look.

“You’re only seventeen. You’re only in high school. You’ll be going to college next year where there will be thousands of new people for you to meet. You never know, one of them could be your soulmate. It’s very likely that you haven’t even met them yet,” John explained, trying to reassure his son.

“ _Or_ ,” Dean began, “they don’t exist.”

John sighed, standing up and placing a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “You’ll find them, son.” With a hard pat of his hand, he walked out of Dean’s room.

Dean grabbed his backpack from where it sat behind him on the bed, unzipping it and pulling out his AP Chemistry textbook. He thought about what his father told him. Maybe his soulmate was in college. But, he still couldn’t get himself to quite believe it.

* * *

When Dean arrived at school the next day, he could hardly keep his eyes open. He had been up until almost two trying to finish his homework, and then, he couldn’t fall asleep. The fluorescent lights inside of the school were entirely too bright for his liking, and he had to squint his eyes in order to see properly, which only made him more tired. Charlie was standing at his locker when he arrived, and, unsurprisingly, accompanied by Dorothy. “Mornin’ Dean!” Charlie said with way too much enthusiasm for the ungodly hour of eight AM. **  
**

“Good morning, Charlie,” he greeted, opening up his locker. “Hi, Dorothy.”

Dorothy gave a polite smile and wave. “So, I heard little Sammy found his soulmate!” Charlie said, and Dean looked at her in surprise. He hadn’t told her about that.

“Where did you hear that from?” he asked, grabbing his AP English binder and textbook.

“Everyone is talking about it. He’s the youngest person to find his soulmate in Lawrence history,” Dorothy explained.

“Isn’t that so cool?!”

Dean huffed a little laugh. “Yeah, I guess that is pretty cool. Not cool that everyone is talking about my little brother...but cool.”

The three headed over to AP English together, Dorothy giving Charlie a quick kiss on the cheek before heading off to her own class. Despite the PDA, Dean couldn’t help but smile. They took their usual seats next to each other and near the front of the class where they could pay attention the best. When Dean looked behind him, his eyes immediately landed on Castiel Novak, who was glaring at him. Why Castiel was in an AP class, Dean would never know. He didn’t really seem like the type to want to challenge himself intellectually. As his mother would say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, but Dean liked the think he knew a little about Castiel, and Castiel was definitely not the smartest by any means. At least, not with the way that he acted out in class.

After the bell, their teacher, Mrs. Tran, a small Asian lady with an attitude that could snap a pack of rabid dogs to attention, took her usual place behind the wooden podium at the front of the room. There was a cheesy poster taped onto the front of the podium that read “I Love Reading!”, with a cartoon worm wearing glasses and reading a book. It always gave Dean something to smile at when he came to this class. Mrs. Tran cleared her throat, and immediately all of the side conversations stopped.

“Good morning,” she greeted with a sweet smile, and the class reiterated it back. “After the Pledge and attendance, we will begin discussing your at home reading assignment.”

Right on cue, the beep of the intercom went off, and one of the secretaries voiced floated through. “Good morning, Lawrence High school. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.”

The entire class stood, placing their hand over their hearts, turning towards the flag and reciting the Pledge like they did every other morning. When it was over they all sat down again, and Mrs. Tran began attendance.

Charlie leaned over to him and began to whisper to him. “What’s up Castiel’s ass?” she asked, and Dean looked over to see that he was glaring at him again; his startlingly blue eyes boring into his soul. It wasn’t fair. How could someone who was basically cursed to be an asshole have been blessed with such pretty eyes? And why was he glaring at him? Castiel normally left him alone in class to avoid getting in trouble with the teacher.

“Here,” Dean said automatically when his name was called, and looked back at Charlie. “I have no idea,” he told her.

“Hmmm,” Charlie hummed, narrowing her eyes in Castiel’s direction.

“All right, will everyone please take out their notes for chapters one through three of Part Two of _1984_?” Mrs. Tran said, and the class did as they were told. 1984 by George Orwell had so far become Dean’s favorite book. The dark mood of a future dystopian society was intriguing to him, and he could hardly put the book down when he was reading it. Honestly, he had read ahead of the class and was now already on Part Three.

“Can someone explain to me the recurring theme of these three chapters?” Mrs. Tran asked. Dean’s hand shot up immediately. “Yes, Dean.”

“Forbidden love. Winston and Julia are sneaking around together at the risk of being caught by the Thought Police and being arrested,” Dean explained.

Mrs. Tran smiled. “Very good. Two people who should not be together risking everything so that they can be. Who else would care to share their input? Hmm...let’s see. Castiel Novak. What did you get out of the chapters?”

Dean could hear Castiel sigh dramatically, and everyone in the room turned their attention towards him. Castiel was leaning back in his desk, arms crossed over his chest and a smug look on his face. He loved being the center of attention, it seemed. “To me it seems like Winston and Julia are suicidal. They keep talking about how they know they’ll eventually be caught and executed for their crimes, yet they don’t stop seeing each other,” Castiel said, and all their classmates all nodded in agreement.

“Wonderful Castiel. You and Dean both touched on the two main things I wanted to discuss,” Mrs. Tran said. Dean looked back at Castiel again, who, for the third time, was glaring at him. Dean quickly looked away, face red.

The rest of the class period went by painfully slow. They discussed the chapters in depth, and their next assignment was to read chapter four through seven, meaning Dean had no homework. When the bell rang, Castiel was out of the room in three seconds flat. It was sort of impressive. “I’ll try to find out why he was staring you down, Dean,” Charlie said as they made their way into the hall, and Dean just rolled his eyes.

“There’s no point, Charlie. It’s no secret that he hates my guts.”

“Well you’ve given him absolutely no reason to. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“I know you are. And thank you,” he said with a smile.

Charlie beamed, and gave him a light punch in the arm when they reached his locker. “I’ll see you at lunch,” she said. Dean watched after her as she walked off, her fiery red hair swaying behind her. He thanked whoever was listening that he had a friend like Charlie.

Dean stood in the locker room trying to change out of his PE uniform and back into his regular clothes as quickly as possible. He hated having to change in front of all of the guys. It was awkward and uncomfortable for all of them, and his shoulder blade throbbed painfully as he pulled up his jeans. Today’s PE class had been rough. They played baseball, and, of course, he had been put in the same class as Castiel. Castiel was pitcher on the opposite team when Dean went up to bat. Dean hit the ball embarrassingly light, and it rolled on the dirt directly to the pitcher’s mound. While Dean was running for first base, Castiel threw the ball and “accidentally” accidentally hit Dean right in the shoulder blade, causing him to trip and fall face first. The entire class laughed at him, including the PE teacher, who also happened to be Castiel’s big brother Gabriel. Gabriel was almost as much of a dick as Castiel was, and of course, Castiel didn’t get any sort of punishment, just a small scolding for not being careful enough.

Dean just absolutely loved public school physical education.

Just as he was about the pull on his shirt, it was yanked out of his hands. He felt hands on his back, shoving him forwards into the row of lockers. Dean winced as his cheek hit one of the hinges, and he was sure that he would have a cut there. In his peripheral vision, he saw none other than Castiel himself. Figured.

“I don’t appreciate you getting me in trouble with Gabriel,” he sneered in Dean’s ear.

“You didn’t even get in trouble, he just reminded you-” Dean was cut off by being pulled back and then slammed into the locker again. He groaned in pain, and Castiel laughed.

“Trying to be tough, Winchester?” he asked menacingly. He put both of his hands on Dean’s shoulders and spun him around so his back was pressed against the cool metal. He pulled Dean forward so that they were practically nose-to-nose. Those angry blue eyes bore right into his, and Dean gulped. “Probably not your best move.”

Dean clenched his eyes shut the second he saw Castiel raise his right fist. Castiel had never punched him before. Oh, God, Dean had never been punched before. He held his breath in terrified anticipation, waiting for the impact.

It never came.

Instead, he heard Castiel suck in a huge gasp and remove his remaining hand from Dean’s shoulder, allowing him to fall back into the lockers. Dean slowly opened his eyes to see what was going on. When he looked around, all the guys who had gathered to watch had wide eyes- some were clearly trying to hold back laughter. When Dean looked at Castiel, his eyes were wide as well, jaw dropped to the cold, hard floor of the locker room. Dean was confused, and then, suddenly, he knew what the issue was. “What the-” he began, stomach dropping.

Castiel backed away slowly. “Oh _fuck_ , no.”

Their chests were glowing. Castiel’s chest was glowing at the same time as Dean’s. It wasn’t magical like Charlie explained it to be. Like, at all. Instead, all Dean felt was dread. How the hell could Castiel, the boy who treated him like a chew toy since the first day of freshman year, be his soulmate? This couldn’t be happening. He glanced back up at the other boy, who was now giving him a glare deadlier than one he had ever seen. “I’m not gay,” he sneered, before turning around and storming out of the locker room.

As soon as he was gone, all the other guys let out their laughter. It was loud, and obnoxious, and extremely unnecessary. Face burning, Dean picked up his shirt off of the ground and threw it on, slamming his locker door shut. He pushed through the group of guys and made his way out. He didn’t turn right to get out of the gym and go back into the hallways, but instead he pushed through the door that let out of the school. He sprinted across the parking lot as fast as he could, and headed towards home.

* * *

Dean burst through the front door, sweaty and panting. Mary was sitting on the couch and watching TV in the living room, dressed in her scrubs and ready to go to work. “Dean?” she said, startled at seeing her son home when he should be at school. “Why the hell aren’t you at school?” She stood up and made her way over to him where he was pressed against the front door panting.

“My soulmate,” he said between deep breaths, “I found my soulmate.”

And then he burst into tears.

Mary pulled him into her arms, rubbing a hand soothingly up and down his back. “Why are you crying, then?” she asked softly.

“B-because, it’s C-Castiel Novak,” he said, voice slightly muffled by her shoulder. Mary knew all about Castiel. She had gone to the school a couple times about him, but what Castiel did was never considered serious enough by the principal to be punishable.

“Oh honey,” she said, kissing his cheek. “I have to leave for work soon, but I think we have enough time to talk.” She led Dean back over to the couch, and sat them both down. “When did you find out?” she asked.

Dean let out a shuddery breath, calmed down a bit. “After PE, in the locker room. Ironically, he was just about to punch me in the face when our chests…” he trailed off, wiping the tears off of his cheeks with the back of his hand.

“And how do you feel about all of this?” Mary asked, and Dean looked at her in disbelief.

“How do I feel? Like shit, mom. I just found out that the person who has made my high school career hell is my soulmate.”

Mary sighed. “First of all, watch your language. Second of all, maybe he could change. Maybe you’ll realize that he’s not as bad as you think he is.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“You don’t have to let him in right away, but give it a chance.”

“Even if I wanted to, there’s no way he ever would,” Dean said, exasperated.

Mary nodded in understanding. “Well, obviously since you guys are soulmates, it means it’s meant to be. Which also means that the both of you will come around eventually.”

“Okay,” was all Dean could think to say, though he couldn’t believe it. “Do I have to go back to school?” he asked, giving his best puppy dog eyes. Mary just laughed and told him that no, he didn’t have to.

“But,” she said, standing up from the couch. “I do have to head to the hospital now, and since I’m on the night shift I won’t be back until five in the morning. Will you be okay alone?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

Mary leaned down to kiss her son on the cheek. “Love you sweetie. See you tomorrow.”

“Love you too, mom.”

* * *

On the bright side, for the next two weeks, Castiel left Dean alone. On the not-so-bright side, for the next two weeks, Castiel left Dean alone. Castiel was no longer shouting insults at him in the hallways, shoving him into lockers, glaring at him in AP English, or throwing baseballs at him in PE. Though it was a relief for Dean, it was also kind of hurtful. They were soulmates. Shouldn’t they at least be on speaking terms.

Not that Dean was complaining.

The day after it happened, everyone knew. Charlie was both extremely excited and extremely concerned, people Dean had never spoken to were whispering to each other whenever he passed by. John had told Dean that he would gladly put the fear of God into that boy, but Dean told him it was probably best that he just left it alone. Reluctantly, John agreed. Sam was happy for his brother, and Mary didn’t ever bring it up to him, not wanting to upset him further.

Castiel just went on ignoring him.

AP English had become extremely awkward. Everyday, they would come back to the theme of forbidden love in _1984_. It was exactly like Dean and Castiel’s situation, wasn’t it? The lamb finding out that the lion is his soulmate. It wasn’t right. It shouldn’t be meant to be...but it was. Every time the topic was brought up, both boys would shift uncomfortably in their seats.

What surprised Dean most, however, was the fact that no one seemed to care that he and Castiel were both boys. They only cared because of their reputations, and nothing else. He supposed he should be a little bit proud of his classmates.

Occasionally, they would see each other by their houses, since they lived across the street from each other. If they caught each other’s eye, they would both quickly look away and head inside as fast as they could.

It was about midnight, and Dean was still awake, working on AP calculus homework. His experimenting with a variety of difficult classes led him to realize that math was probably his least favorite, and therefore took him the longest. The only light in his room was his desk lamp, which illuminated his worksheet for him. Everyone else in his family was asleep, and it was peacefully quiet, the only sound coming from the crickets outside.

Dean was about done with his work when he heard something tap on his window, making him jump a bit. What the hell? Heart pounding, he pulled up the blinds, to reveal a face. Castiel Novak’s face.

Well, that answered Dean’s question about whether or not you could use that tree to access his room.

“What are you doing here?” He whispered, hoping Castiel could read his lips.

Castiel just mouthed back at him to open the window. Swallowing down his nerves, Dean complied hesitantly. Gracefully, Castiel grabbed onto the ledge and swung his leg over it, pulling himself in. His feet landed on the carpet with a soft thump. “Uh, have a seat?” Dean said, unsure, and gestured to his bed. Castiel nodded, and sat down on the edge, looking extremely uncomfortable.

“I’m, um, sorry about this. I know it’s late, but I saw your light was still on and I really needed to talk to you, so…” he trailed off, and Dean sat down besides him after closing the window again.

“It’s fine,” he said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

“So,” Castiel began, huffing out a small laugh. “We’re-”

“Soulmates,” the finished in unison. They both blushed, looking down at the ground.

“Yeah,” Dean said, “I guess we are.”

This all felt so surreal. If anyone had told Dean two weeks ago that Castiel would end up being his soulmate, and sneaking into his room, he would have told them that they were crazy. But now, here Castiel was. His soulmate. In his room in the middle of the night.

“This is really crazy, isn’t it?” Castiel asked, and Dean nodded in agreement.

“It really is. But, I mean, if you don’t want...this,” he said, moving a hand back and forth between the two, “I completely understand. After all, you made it pretty clear that you’re not gay.”

Castiel sighed, and shrugged. “I’ve always had those thoughts. You know...those little random ones that come and go and make you think, ‘maybe I am gay’, but I never really allowed myself to think about it too much. This just kinda... _forced_ me to. And it really freaked me out.”

Dean nodded in understanding. “Yeah...it was freaky for me too.”

“So, you are gay then?” Castiel asked, sounding a little unsure.

“Yeah,” Dean said with a laugh. “I guess I am.” The truth was, Dean had never really taken the time to think about his sexuality. He had been focused too much on school, and a relationship of any kind had never really crossed his mind, unless it came to the whole soulmate thing. He could picture his soulmate being both a girl and a boy. So maybe he was bisexual? It didn’t matter anymore, he guessed. Castiel was his soulmate.

“I am too,” Castiel said, and let out a deep breath. “Damn, that felt good. I’ve never said it out loud before.”

Dean smiled, and put his hand on top of the other boy’s. “I’m proud of you.”

Castiel looked down at their hands, a little smile forming on his lips. When he looked back up at Dean, there was regret in his eyes. “I’m so sorry Dean,” he said softly.

Dean tilted his head in curiosity. “For what?”

“For the way I’ve been to you. I was such an ass, and I can’t believe that I actually almost punched you in the face. I mean, you’ve done nothing to me, and I’ve done so much to you. How could you ever want to be with me?” Castiel asked, exasperated.

Dean rubbed his thumb soothingly over Castiel’s hand. “It’s okay, Cas. I’m fine, you’re fine.”

“Cas? No one has ever called me that before. I kinda like it,” Castiel said, considering the nickname with a small smile.

“Good,” Dean said. “And I mean it. You don’t need to apologize. It’s really okay.”

“Are you sure?” Castiel didn’t exactly believe him.

“Positive, Cas.”

They talked for about another hour. They talked about everything- about their families, their friends, their favorite music, and what they like to do when they have absolutely nothing to do. Dean learned that Castiel was a huge literature nerd, which explained why he was in AP English. He also learned that Cas wanted to become a high school English teacher one day, and that he played baseball mainly to make his father and his brother Gabriel happy. Being an amazing player was just out of pure luck. Dean told Cas all about his family, about how his little brother was the youngest person in Lawrence history to find their soulmate. He even told him about how he was afraid he didn’t have a soulmate, and Castiel admitted that the thought had crossed his own mind a few times as well.

When they were both yawning, Castiel stood up to leave. Dean stood up as well, and they both looked around the room awkwardly, neither one knowing exactly what to do next. “I guess I should head home…” Cas said, hands in his pockets and looking down at his feet.

“Yeah, I guess so. It’s getting late,” Dean agreed, and glanced at the clock. It was getting close to one fifteen.

Cas was looking at him now, clearly nervous. Dean took a step closer, his hands shaking a bit. “So...should we…?” Cas asked, gesturing his hand. He didn’t say it out loud, but Dean knew what he meant anyway.

“I guess we could try,” Dean said, trying to sound more confident and nonchalant than he felt. Inside, he was a big mess of feelings and nerves and excitement and anticipation.

Castiel took a step forward, and hesitantly placed both hands on Dean’s shoulders. It reminded Dean of the incident in the locker room, but he shook that thought off quickly. Cas was different. He could trust him. He knew, deep down to the bottom of his very soul, that he could.

When Castiel pulled Dean closer, they stopped millimeters away from each other- their lips so close to touching, and Dean could feel Castiel’s breath across his lips. Closing their eyes, They both leaned forward a bit more, just so their lips were brushing in a tiny, quick kiss. But it felt like sparks. They leaned away to look into each other’s wide and hopeful eyes, noticing that their chests had started glowing faintly agian, before going back in again, lips pressing more firmly.

Cas was the first to slightly part his lips, so Dean followed his movements. He had never kissed anyone before, and never imagined that it would be like this. The tip of Castiel’s tongue traced along Dean’s bottom lip, so Dean parted his lips more to let him in. When their tongues touched, Dean almost pulled away because of the unexpected shock of if, but forced himself to stay put. It felt really good, actually. Bravely, Dean tilted his head to the side more and slid a hand into Castiel’s soft, dark hair, pulling him closer to deepen this kiss. Castiel practically moaned at this, and Dean felt the unfamiliar feeling of smugness that he was able to pull that reaction out of the other boy. Their lips continued to move against each other, their tongues sliding together smoothly. It was amazing.

It felt like years before they finally stopped, resting their foreheads together and breathing heavily. “Wow,” Castiel said simply, and all Dean could do was nod in agreement. Cas removed his hands from Dean’s shoulders and stepped back a little, pressing another quick peck to Dean’s lips. “I can definitely get used to that.”

“So can I,” Dean said, and couldn’t help but to kiss Castiel quickly again.

Castiel smiled, and turned around to open the window. “I’ll see you at school?”

“Yes you will,” Dean replied, feeling extremely giddy.

Castiel nodded, and began to climb back out the window. When he got his feet planted firmly on one of the tree branches, he turned back to look at Dean, hands still gripping the window sill. “Can we make this a nightly thing?” he asked, and Dean just laughed.

“Of course we can.” Dean leaned out the window to place his hands on Castiel’s cheeks, pulling him in for just one more kiss. It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt just as amazing as that other one. When he pulled away, Castiel gave him a wink before descending back down the tree.

Dean had a hard time sleeping that night; his mind was racing with thoughts of glowing chests and kisses and Castiel. He was exhausted at school the next day, but he didn’t care. The genuine and knowing smiles Castiel gave him made it all worth it. Charlie wondered why he was in such a good mood, and he just told her that he didn’t know why, he just was. He would tell her about his night at another time.

Eventually, Castiel asked Dean to be his boyfriend, and of course, everyone knew the next day. He took Castiel home to meet his family, and while his parents were hesitant, they ended up loving him. Sam, too. Dean also got to meet Jess, who was probably the sweetest little girl he ever got the pleasure of being introduced to. Plus, it was obvious that her and Sammy were head over heals for each other, they way Dean was really starting to feel about Castiel.

Ten years later, when Dean had a career as a biochemist and Castiel had achieved his goal of becoming a high school English teacher, they stood at the altar together- holding hands, and smiling. When they were told to kiss, it felt like that first time back in Dean’s bedroom. Every kiss since then felt like that, and that’s what Dean loved the most.

Cas had gone from being Dean’s bully, to the one person Dean couldn’t live without. And in that moment, having just married the love of his life, he knew that the idea of soulmates wasn’t as ridiculous as he once thought. Your soulmate was the person that no matter what the circumstances, you will always find each other. Because, just like with Julia and Winston in _1984_ , even though they ended up being arrested and ended up betraying each other, they still managed to find each other again. It was just simply meant to be.


End file.
